Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to wall safes and, more particularly, to a wall safe which is disguised as a return air vent.
There are many previously known wall safes which are designed to be recessed into the interior of a building wall. Such wall safes typically are combination or key operated safes and are frequently hidden behind pictures mounted to the wall. There are, however, two principal disadvantages of these previously known wall safes. First, since such wall safes are commonly hidden behind pictures mounted to the wall, experienced burglars or thieves can rapidly and easily locate the wall safe. Consequently, the hidden aspect of the wall safe provides no real advantage since the safe can be rapidly located.
A still further disadvantage of these previously known wall safes is that either a key or combination is necessary for the owner to open the wall safe. Consequently, the wall safe frequently cannot be rapidly opened or, if the key is inaccessible, it cannot be opened at all. In many situations, however, it would be advantageous to secure a gun or other weapon within the wall safe for protection against intruders. In view of the time necessary to open these previously known wall safes, it is often times impossible to open the safe quick enough to obtain the weapon and repel the intruder.